An Agent-Based Modeling Approach to Integrate Social Dimensions and Infrastructure Management for Urban Water Reuse

This grant explores the interplay between social and technical aspects of reclaimed, or recycled, water and will discover new ways for planning municipal water infrastructure and policy. A simulation approach, employing computer based agent-based modeling, will be formulated to examine the interactions among consumers, utility operators, existing water infrastructure, and new water reclamation infrastructure. The results of the project will inform two broad areas of research: (1) public opinion of unfamiliar technologies, and (2) civil engineering design approaches for water supply systems. Moreover, the project will bridge engineering with the social and behavioral sciences by introducing the Acceptance-Resistance Agent-Based Model (ARAM), based on existing engineering models and new empirical assessments of public opinion. Going beyond a purely economic perspective of consumer behaviors, the ARAM approach simulates transitions in public attitudes toward accepting or resisting water reuse. Comparing results of the ARAM with results of a typical economic modeling approach will identify the social factors that significantly impact system performance. Modeling will be demonstrated for a water utility in North Carolina.

If successful, this research will provide a computational approach to assist municipal water utilities seeking to augment their water supply with water reclamation. Integrating new technologies in an existing water supply infrastructure is a dynamic process that involves the transition of both social relationships and engineering infrastructures. Typically, policy development is predominantly informed through engineering analysis alone. However this project overcomes this limitation by linking consumer perceptions of risk with engineering models to explicitly incorporate dynamic behavior. As a pedagogical tool, the model will be used to train the next generation of civil engineers and social scientists of informing policy in collaborative ways. The research will improve the current understanding of relationships between consumers and infrastructure performance and will provide solutions for water utilities across the United States.